{"nrhp_refnum":"73000291","name":"Lenox Library","other_names":["Second Berkshire County Court House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"18 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lenox","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.35758048300005,"lon":-73.28455562799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick building at 18 Main Street, Lenox, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, built in 1815-16 as the second Berkshire County Court House and enlarged in 1889. It now houses the Lenox Library.","why_significant":"The original section was designed by Capt. Isaac Damon of Northampton and served as the county courthouse until 1869. The 1889 addition includes Sedgwick Hall, which hosted community events. The building has long been a focal point of Lenox and county activities.","narrative":"Built in 1815-16 as the second Berkshire County Court House, this two-story brick building on Main Street in Lenox now serves as the town library. Capt. Isaac Damon of Northampton designed the original block, and Ashbel Hill of Lenox and Rufus Wright of Northampton built it. It has a low hip roof with a lattice and paneled parapet, an open cupola holding a 1787 bell, and a front portico with two-story engaged Ionic columns. The court sat here until 1869, when the county seat moved to Pittsfield. In 1889 a larger addition was built, containing Sedgwick Hall, an auditorium used for the Horticultural Ball, graduations, lectures, concerts and receptions. Over the years rooms were rented to a bank, a physician and other tenants, and the first Lenox telephone exchange opened in a rear office in 1895. Damon's drawings and contracts are kept in the library. It still serves as a library, summer art gallery and venue for concerts and lectures.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific dates 1815-16, 1889)","architect_builder":"Designed by Capt. Isaac Damon (1781-1862) of Northampton; builders Ashbel Hill of Lenox and Rufus Wright of Northampton","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent; altered; on original site; occupied and open to the public as a library, summer art gallery, and concert and lecture facility.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.314959-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/7943/63794314/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/73000291.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000291/2e1cbf6ea4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000291/2e1cbf6ea4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lenox_Library,_Lenox_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lenox_Library,_Lenox_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100006987","name":"Lenox Village Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/lenox-village-historic-district-100006987/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794314","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenox_Library_(Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4543384"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/lenox-library-73000291/"}